The Foreign Service Journal, November 2005

American Foreign Service Association • November 2005 AFSA NEWS very representative organization needs feedback from con- stituents as a reliable way to find out what its members are thinking. The new AFSA Governing Board, as part of the process of defining our priorities and determining our posi- tions on key issues facing the Foreign Service, conducted aWeb-based electron- ic opinion poll of State Department active-duty members in August and September. Almost 2,000 of you com- pleted the survey — a remarkably high response rate and a statistically conclu- sive sample of the views of the roughly F or 37 years, AFSA has sponsored a program to recognize constructive dissent and risk-taking in the Foreign Service. The AFSA Dissent Awards areunique, because they are based on integrity rather thanperformance. No other organization or agency in the U.S. government has a similar program. Each winner receives $2,500, presented at a spe- cial ceremony in June in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department. AFSA’s constructivedissent awardspro- vide a way to honor those Foreign Service professionalswhodemonstrate the integri- ty, initiative and intellectual courage tochal- lenge conventionalwisdom, toquestion the status quoor suggest alternative courses of action. (TheDissent Channel at State, first proposedbyAFSA, was created in1971 as a formal mechanism for expressing dis- agreement/dissent with State’s established policies.) Hiram (“Harry”) Bingham IVwas an FSO who granted American entry visas, WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED Online Opinion Poll Shapes AFSA Agenda BY STEVE KASHKETT, AFSA STATE VICE PRESIDENT FOREIGN SERVICE MEMBER KILLED IN IRAQ AFSA Mourns Loss of DS Agent O n Sept. 19, State Department Diplomatic Security Special Agent Stephen Eric Sullivan, 40, was killed in the line of duty while serving on a protective detail in Mosul. (See obitu- ary, p. 69.) Sullivan died along with three American security contractors when their vehiclewas struck by a car bomb. He was the third Foreign Service member to be killed in Iraq. AFSA is deeply saddened by the death of Mr. Sullivan. In a press release on Sept. 20, AFSA President J. Anthony Holmes stated: “This tragic loss underlines themortal dangers faced by themen and women of the U.S. Foreign Service who are working under the most extreme cir- cumstances to advance our nation’s vital interests around the globe. On behalf of Inside This Issue: BRIEFS: AGGELER ...............................2 STATE VP: FAMILY QUARREL ...........3 USAID VP: MERGER RUMORS...........4 FAS VP: HUMAN CAPITAL..................5 MEMBER SURVEY: CHARTS...............6 AAFSW................................................8 FS VOICE: PERMANENT IMPERMANENCE.................................9 Continued on page 4 Continued on page 6 E JOSH Continued on page 8 CALL FOR AFSA DISSENT AWARD NOMINATIONS 2006 BY BARBARA BERGER, PROFESSIONAL ISSUES COORDINATOR